Eli’s POV
I told myself it was fine.
Maybe she was tired.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb4sZtZd5C6
Maybe she’d forgotten.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXALpJ0VLui
Maybe it was just one night.
But I knew better.
Mara didn’t miss things. Not like this.
It started small—the usual playlist never came. No message. No subtle emoji with a song link. Nothing.
I still showed up at the café. Still took Table Nine. Still ordered two coffees, like muscle memory was smarter than my pride.
She didn’t come.
The next night, same thing.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDXy2RzGtLh
And the night after that.
On the third night, I didn’t order coffee. I just sat there, staring at the chair across from me like it had betrayed me.
I tried telling myself we weren’t anything. Not really. We hadn’t kissed. We hadn’t confessed. We hadn’t even made promises.
But her absence…8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ZcToPsf3q
It hollowed out the room.
When I got home, I paced for over an hour. Thought about calling her. Thought about walking to her building. I even opened a blank message three times just to type:
Are you okay?
But I never hit send.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡltDoqDJIdb
Because I wasn’t sure what scared me more—8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVb84jXBssx
that she wouldn’t reply…8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRlPz46PtDH
or that she would, and something would be different.
That night, I wrote something instead. Not for a book. Just for me.
Dear Mara,
I think you became my routine before I had the courage to admit it.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPuuC7O9WZc
I memorized the sound of your laugh in lowercase, the kind that only shows up in real conversation.I know we never said what this is.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1HwpeoLJFp
But not knowing doesn’t make it smaller.If you’re hurting, I don’t need details.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDmEQ2jP9BQ
Just tell me you're still here.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5fFf1aFEMH
That you still want me to listen.—E
I didn’t send that either.
But I left it in her mailbox the next morning.
Handwritten.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0D3SS1TPxy
No envelope.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2B6sMybFG3
No signature.
Just one song attached to it on a flash drive:8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeCCAAKg2pZ
The one we shared in the rain.
